From Dusty's Dream to Cody's Destiny: A Legacy Honored in Madison Square Garden

Cody Rhoades is one of the biggest names in professional wrestling at this point in time. After a long run in the WWE, the superstar made founded AEW along with other professional wrestlers, and had a long run there, before making a return to the Stamford-based promotion.
Cody, also known as The American Nightmare, is the son of the late Dusty Rhoades, who earned the moniker of “The American Dream” during his days as a professional wrestler.He won the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in 1977 after defeating Billy Graham.
Although the championship belt was taken away from it 10 seconds after he’d won it because he won the match by countout, Cody Rhoades lifted the WWE title and celebrated with it at the same spot where his father had celebrated, on June 28, 2024, at Madison Square Gardens.

In what came off as a very emotional promo, Cody Rhoades addressed the crowd and said that he just wanted to tell his father that no one could take away the title from him now. This story is a touching one and represents what can aptly be described as the Circle of life, where a son is fulfilling the dream of what his father once had, quite similar to what you get to see in the Lion King.

While talking on The Pivot Podcast later on, here’s what Cody had to say:
“"Truthfully at eight years old that was my goal, my goal was to do what I did last night and you know I wish he had been alive for it ... I often get emotional on the microphone, there's a good chunk of wrestling fans, that is not what they are tuning in for. They are not into this dude up there crying all the time, they are not but that was one of those ones and I was happy that we did it for the MSG crowd ... he loved the Garden and the Garden was really good to Dusty and they didn't have to be."
The late great Dusty Rhoades is one of the legends in the world of professional wrestling, and his son, Cody Rhoades is living up to his name by putting on some amazing matches that we’ve seen in the past year.
With his career on an uphill trajectory right now, it will be interesting to see how far the Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion goes with the title, and the legacy that he creates for himself.
Also read: Cody Rhoades talks about his potential heel turn